Against the Evidence: Confessed Feminicide Perpetrators and the Weight of Their Voices in the Press and Trials in Mexico City

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I analyze a phenomenon observed in certain cases of feminicide in Mexico: Once the probable perpetrator makes a confession acknowledging the crime, testimonies and material evidence that contradict his statement are excluded from the media narrative, as well as from investigations and judicial proceedings. Although the suspect's confession may seem to bring justice closer, the distortion in the investigations and collective memory continues to reproduce gender‐based violence. To explore this phenomenon, I examine three cases from Mexico City spanning 75 years: that of Gregorio Cárdenas, who was considered by the press to be the first serial feminicide in Mexico City in 1942, and contrast it with two recent cases: the feminicide of Sandra Camacho Aguilar attributed to Javier N., as well as that of Lesvy Berlín Rivera Osorio, committed by Jorge Luis González Hernández. I also highlight the importance of the legal framework that has classified feminicide as a crime in Mexico City since 2012, the dual role of the press as both an agent of revictimization and a force for denouncing abuses, and the ways in which feminist groups have intervened to advocate for victims and monitor the enforcement of justice.